Degrees Without Jobs: The Silent Struggle of KP’s Postgraduates

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Peshawar: For Sumbal Riaz, an MSc Economics graduate with top academic credentials, the promise that education guarantees a better future has proven painfully hollow.

After years of applying for government teaching posts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) without success, she now earns a living as a tailor in her hometown of Nowshera.

“I applied repeatedly for teaching jobs, but the competition was overwhelming,” she said. “To support my family, I had no choice but to learn tailoring.”

A first-division graduate from the University of Peshawar and a topper in the B.Ed programme through distance education, Sumbal is emblematic of a growing class of educated youth in KP trapped in underemployment despite advanced degrees.

Her story reflects a harsh reality confronting thousands of postgraduates across the province: academic excellence no longer guarantees dignified employment.

Each year, universities and postgraduate colleges in KP produce tens of thousands of graduates, but the job market has failed to expand accordingly. Public-sector vacancies are limited, while private-sector opportunities remain constrained due to weak industrialisation and sluggish business activity.

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The scale of the crisis was laid bare during the recent teacher recruitment drive, where 866,000 candidates competed for just 16,454 teaching positions.

The Education Evaluation and Testing Authority (EETA) conducted written tests for eight teaching cadres, including primary, secondary, theology, IT and physical education teachers, across 25 centres under strict supervision. On average, more than 52 candidates chased every available seat.

Riazul Haq, a former primary school teacher, noted that many applicants held master’s degrees, while some even possessed M.Phil and PhD qualifications but were forced to apply for primary-level jobs.

“This shows how severely public-sector employment has shrunk and how stagnant the private sector has become,” he said, warning that prolonged unemployment could intensify frustration and trigger a brain drain from the province.

Official data reinforces these concerns. According to the Labour Force Survey 2024–25, KP recorded the highest unemployment rate in the country at 9.6 percent, well above the national average of 7.1 percent. Punjab followed with 7.3 percent, Balochistan with 5.5 percent, and Sindh reported the lowest rate at 5.1 percent.

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Financial pressures on higher education institutions have further complicated the situation.

A fiscal analysis of KP universities prepared by the Governor’s Secretariat showed healthy surpluses of over Rs4 billion in 2021 and nearly Rs4 billion in 2022, but projections for 2023–24 dropped sharply to Rs545 million. Over-recruitment, inflation and weak financial management were cited as key factors.

While federal grants to KP’s public universities have steadily increased — reaching nearly Rs11 billion in 2023 — development outcomes remain uneven.

Several large-scale projects, including the Arbab Niaz International Cricket Stadium in Peshawar, are still incomplete, while work on the Kalam Sports Stadium in Swat has yet to begin, raising questions about development priorities and execution.

Amid these challenges, policymakers point to vocational and entrepreneurship initiatives as a way forward. The federal government has expanded technical and vocational education programmes aimed at equipping young people with marketable skills. Under the Prime Minister’s Youth Skills and Entrepreneurship initiatives, thousands of young men and women in KP are receiving training, business loans and start-up support.

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According to the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), youth in KP are benefiting from the National Business Development Programme, which offers grants of up to Rs500,000 for early-stage start-ups, with additional funding for business expansion over one to five years. Nearly 350 business plans have been developed, alongside free training and advisory services.

Under the broader USD 20 billion Economic Revitalisation Project, young entrepreneurs are receiving support for machinery purchases, staff training, business upgrades and trademark registration.

Common facility centres for honey processing, silk dyeing, washing and women-led enterprises have been established in Swat, while a spinning facility in Islampur aims to promote small-scale industry in Malakand Division.

Nationally, the Prime Minister’s youth programme has disbursed around Rs251 billion in business loans, supported more than 435,000 entrepreneurs, distributed 600,000 laptops, awarded 364,000 skills scholarships and granted 250,000 educational scholarships.

For graduates like Sumbal, these initiatives offer a glimmer of hope, but the gap between education and employment remains wide. Until sustained industrial growth and job creation take root in KP, many of the province’s brightest minds may continue to search for livelihoods far removed from the degrees they worked so hard to earn.